Category Archives: Logo Design

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Over the summer, I had the honor and privilege of working on a huge project for ArtWorks Cincinnati. I lead a team of student apprentices over 6 weeks to complete a massive graphic installation at the Duke Energy Convention Center. Our objective was to highlight some of Cincinnati’s landmarks. First we created an icon system of some famous structures. With the icons in place, we created coordinating artwork to cover 50+ huge glass panels. We even included quotes from locals about why they love Cincinnati… a fun touch! Check out the end result in the beautiful photos below, courtesy of J. Miles Wolf Photography. Or, check out this video clip of me on the local news!

A woman approaches Pablo Picasso and asks him to sketch her. He obliges, and in a matter of minutes, the sketch is presented. The woman is amazed by his talent and ability to capture her essence. When she offered to pay Picasso, he told her the price: $10,000. Shocked, the woman said, “Isn’t that a bit high for something that only took minutes to create? His response, “No, miss. It took a lifetime.”

I should note there are many variations on this story floating around, but you get the point.

I’d like to compare this story to my own experiences designing logos. Everyone can paint and likewise, lots of people can call themselves a logo designer. I suppose my husband could open up Word and whip up a logo. And I bet your high school neighbor who is super interested in design can also design a logo.

I recently created an amazing logo in almost no time. Does it matter that it only took a little while to create? Not to me and not to the client who is over the moon with it. The simplicity, cleverness and perfection of the logo is what she paid for. She could have paid another designer to work on her logo for a month and without the ability to find happy accidents and clever combinations, another designer may never have been able to come close to creating the perfect logo.

So, when you hire a creative professional. Check out their portfolio. Get their history and find someone with a style you admire. Find your Picasso.

If you’re like lots of people, you might have made a New Year’s resolution that included something fitness related. I’m guilty, as usual. In fact, I just got home after re-upping my family’s YMCA membership. So I thought it would be very fitting to post a new logo design that I just created for Studio NT. It’s a home-based pilates studio located in Cincinnati. Nancy, the owner, is just about as nice as clients get and was great to work with. Well, when you mix nice clients and nice designers, you get awesome logos. Check it out! And if you’re up for some Classical Pilates Instruction, may I be the first to recommend Studio NT!